By: Rob Porter
The various applications of artificial intelligence and its implications for the future continue to be subjects of great debate. AI is being used to create digital art and music, and is being leveraged by many companies in a variety of industries. Not surprisingly, AI tools can also be used by job seekers to make things a little easier. Here are some ways that you can implement AI tools during your job search.
Drafting a Cover Letter
Cover letters can be particularly tricky if you’re a first-time job seeker or if you haven’t conducted a job search in many years. A good cover letter will grab the attention of the hiring manager, and will help make you stand out from the other applicants. As such, your cover letter should be well-written and concise, and should include information about your education and work history. Along with this, the best cover letters are tailored to each job application and showcase a candidate’s unique personality.
AI tools such as ChatGPT are great for helping you get started on your cover letter. Try using a prompt such as “Write me a cover letter for a [job title] position where I will be [add in responsibilities and tasks to be completed].” This should give you a nice start, but make sure you customize each cover letter for the company you’re applying to. In addition to this, you’ll have to make certain changes to the language that AI tools use in order to make your cover letter sound more natural and “human.”
Improving Your Resume
If you’re starting from scratch, you could try a prompt such as “I am a [job title] with [number of years] of experience and I’m applying for a job at [company name]. What information do I need to create a resume?” If you’re using ChatGPT, this prompt will cause the AI to provide you with a series of bullet points detailing the information you’re going to need to put together your resume, including contact information, a summary or objective statement, experience, skills, and education, just to name a few.
AI tools can also help to improve an existing resume. Try providing the AI with information from your resume by copying and pasting bullet points, sentences, or your summary statement into the prompt. Then, ask the AI to provide you with alternative information that can be added to your resume. You may also ask the AI to refine the results multiple times until you get the desired result.
Email Communications
An important aspect of any job search is the ability to craft well-written emails. Whether it’s an introductory email or a follow-up, your email communications have the potential to make or break your candidacy, so it’s crucial that you put the effort in when writing them. If you’re having trouble getting started or you have a lot of follow-up emails to write, AI tools are a great way to create drafts quickly.
When feeding your prompt to an AI tool, try something along the lines of “Write me a follow-up email to [company name] for my [job title] application.” You may also include the intended length of your email in the prompt, which should never be much more than one or two paragraphs. Keep in mind that email drafts created by AI tools are best used as a starting point; you’ll have to go back and add specific details about your skills, or any previous interactions you’ve had with the hiring manager.
Interview Practice
At some point during your job search, you’ll be asked to attend an interview. This can be a harrowing experience if it’s your first time or if you haven’t interviewed in a while. As with most things, practice makes close to perfect when it comes to job interviews, and you can actually use AI tools to help you along the way.
To get started, try a prompt along the lines of “Can you help me practice for a job interview?” The AI will respond by asking for further information about the job you’re applying for, the company, and the interview format, among other things. Here, you’ll get out what you put in, so take some time to research common interview questions in your line of work. If you’d like more information on how to practice for an upcoming job interview, check out our previous blog here.
Your LinkedIn Profile
It’s also worth mentioning that you can use AI tools to help you optimize your LinkedIn profile. This can be done in the exact same way you used AI to help you with your resume. For example, you could try a prompt similar to “Write me an about section for my [job title] LinkedIn profile.” The response will leave room for you to plug in certain information such as how many years you have been active, or whether you’ve acquired any degrees or certifications.
You can also have the AI provide you with alternative versions of any text that you wish to include on your LinkedIn profile, such a job descriptions and responsibilities. As always, you can ask the AI to refine the text multiple times until you get what you’re looking for—just make sure you take a look at the language and make any necessary changes so it doesn’t sound synthetic or wooden.
It’s important to remember that while AI tools can be helpful during a job search, they’re best used as a starting point or to create drafts. Think of AI as “training wheels” as you hone your skills in writing cover letters, emails, and your resume. Learn from the responses you get working with AI, and apply the lessons to your job search moving forward. Most importantly, ensure that you’re letting your unique, human personality shine through if you decide to leverage AI in your job search.
Originally published on Vault.
